Provided by Masroor Mosque
Imam Shamshad Nasir delivered a lecture at an interfaith event at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Lake Ridge on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022.After a brief introduction of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and himself, Imam Shamshad Nasir presented the Islamic point of view on the purpose of existence and the responsibilities of humans towards their Creator. Imam Nasir explained that according to the teachings of the Holy Quran, as humans, our responsibility is to show obedience to God, be it Yahweh, Father, Allah, or any name a religion has used for God.
The teachings of Islam on the Afterlife are easy to understand and straightforward, i.e., the Afterlife is the reflection of our actions in this world. Imam Nasir said that one of the commandments of God is to worship Him but the act of worship is not limited to visiting Church once a week or Mosque five times a day, but it also implies being kind to one another, to your family, neighbors, and the rest of the creation of God. That is the essence of obedience to God.Imam Nasir said that if we maintain our spiritual health by staying obedient to God in this world, God has promised paradise in the Afterlife. Those who cause harm to their spiritual well-being by acting against the commandments of God will be admitted to a kind of rehab or hospital where they will get treatment to regain their spiritual health, and that facility is called hell. Hospitals are a blessing of God for people who, despite painful treatment, continue to live their lives with mental and physical health after their recovery. Similarly, hell is a favor for those who damage their spiritual health in this world, because in the Afterlife they will eventually enter paradise after gaining spiritual health through treatment in the spiritual hospital.Imam Nasir’s lecture was well received, and the audience asked different questions related to the teachings of Islam about the Afterlife. At the end of the program, Imam Nasir presented a book written by the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Musim Community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, titled ‘The Philosophy of Teachings of Islam’ to the speakers and organizers of the interfaith meeting.
